The Strange Scheme at Spirit Mountain

This is a dark, unconventional take on the story of the “True and False Monkey King.” To control the pilgrimage, the Buddha replaces the unruly Sun Wukong with the Six-Eared Macaque, then publicly kills the real Wukong on Mount Ling. Though the Six-Eared Macaque inherits Sun Wukong’s memories and supernatural powers perfectly, he gradually develops a will of his own. And in the eyes of the stone monkey in the Water Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain, a defiant demon soul is quietly stirring...

Tang Sanzang glimpses the bloodshed on Mount Ling in a dream, and a golden lotus mark mysteriously appears on his palm, identical to the one behind the Six-Eared Macaque’s ear. Guanyin secretly sets her plan in motion, using a golden needle to try to awaken the true Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Meanwhile, under the Buddha’s control, a shocking conspiracy concerning the truth about Buddhism gradually comes to light...